Why You Should Move to Ukraine

“Why should I move to Ukraine?” That is not the question any aspiring American, European, or Canadian expat should be asking themselves. They should be asking…

“Why on God’s green Earth have I not already moved to Ukraine?”

Ukraine is really beginning to heat up as a destination for expats and for many good reasons. It has an insanely low cost of living, modern amenities that cost a fraction of what they do at home, the most beautiful women on the planet, and a government that doesn’t want to read every email you send.

Western Ukraine looks and feels very much like the rest of Europe now, with the country aiming to become part of the EU by 2020. That makes investing in property here a smart choice, because once the country becomes part of the EU you can be certain that real estate values will double almost overnight.

Also remember that the cities in Western Ukraine are located hundreds of miles away from any of the border problems in Crimea and the Donetsk Basin and once Ukraine is in the EU Putin will never touch them.

The Ukraine railway network makes it easy to travel around the country. The trains generally run on time and is incredibly cheap. For instance, on you could have booked a ticket from Lviv to Dnipro on November 11, 2017 for $5.54. That is 614 miles for 554 cents!

You couldn’t walk it for that price – in 1850!

You get a climate that makes summers enjoyable, and even winters can be fun because you can go skiing in the sub-zero temperatures. Ukrainians are generally very welcoming and friendly, so you’re not made to feel like a foreigner except in very, very rare circumstances and not by people who would class themselves as true Ukrainians.

Ukraine is gaining in popularity as an ideal country for Western guys to relocate to, and for more reasons than just the lower cost of living and the stunning women, although they’re obviously factors.

Western countries are becoming more Orwellian and controlling with each passing year, something that Edward Snowden blew the lid off of. Soon enough Eastern European countries might be the only ones where you have any real personal freedom of speech, free of the radical feminists who seem intent on destroying Western society.

Ukraine Is One of the Cheapest Nations to Live

It’s no secret that the majority of Eastern European countries are much cheaper to live in than their western counterparts. Since Putin’s crazy land grab in 2014 Ukraine is not just cheap it is crazy cheap!

But to really give you some perspective on this we need to do some math. Let’s say you earn US$30,000 per year after taxes – that breaks down to US$2,500 per month. The average monthly salary in the Ukraine is the equivalent of about US$400, but can be as little as US$100 per month if you’re living on the bare minimum wage.

This means that your dollars will go a long way here, in the same way they do when you’re visiting Mexico or similar countries. You can get a 3-course meal for two people at a nice restaurant for about $15. A night at the opera will set you back about US$20 for you and your date, and a coffee will cost you 83c.

An apartment on Airbnb can cost you as little as $10 per night for something really basic, or about $30 per night for something a bit more luxurious. Hotels are equally affordable, starting at around $20 per night for a room in a 3-star hotel, but no more than $100 per night for the best hotels in whatever city you’re in.

Even going out for drinks is ludicrously cheap, with a bottle of wine costing $3, an imported beer will set you back an entire dollar, and a pack of imported cigarettes will cost you an additional US$1. Hiring taxis is almost cheaper than makes sense, with a 5km journey costing $5.

In the end you start to feel like you literally need to give your money away to get rid of it. Obviously don’t walk around the streets throwing money on the ground. It can’t possibly end well for you.

World-Class Women

Okay, it’s no secret that Ukrainian women are rated as some of the most beautiful in the world, and that’s because they are. They have a natural beauty, similar to what you see in Polish or Russian girls, and it’s something that you can’t create with plastic surgery.

In fact, it’s something that takes decades of selective breeding to create – the women here are simply the result of a cleaner gene pool than exists in other countries. How did this happen?

Only the fittest and strongest Ukrainian men and women survived the famines and purges of the 1920s and 1930s, and then they had to endure several years of additional hardship during World War II. In the end the only people left alive were at the top of the food chain, and that’s exactly what you see in the women in the Ukraine today.

That might sound harsh, but it’s a truth backed up by historical fact and biological certainty. Just look at the women on our site.

Wow!

The women here are a mixture of your typical blonde Eastern European beauty but you’ll also find dark haired Slavic hotties here too. They tend to be more olive skinned than pale, apparently due to Greek influences in the region. They don’t rely on layers of makeup to look their prettiest because that’s something that comes naturally to them.

The benefit for you is that you get to wake up next to a woman who looks the same way the next morning as she did the night before.

They take care of their appearance in a way that Western women don’t, so it’s very rare to come across a Ukrainian girl who’s overweight and dressed in sweat pants and runners.

But it goes deeper than just looks – they have an inherent charisma that makes them attractive in a way you just can’t put your finger on. They can melt your heart with a single glance, and make every man in the room snap to attention when they walk in.

Worried about gold diggers? There’s no point in saying that a small percentage of the women here aren’t looking for wealthy Western guys to leech off, but you get those in the West too. You only need to check out any episode of those “Real Housewives Of…” shows to see that behind every successful Western businessman is a gold-digging hoochie mamma with an IQ to match her chest measurements.

It’s Not A Frozen Wilderness

That’s Siberia, guys. Not everywhere in Eastern Europe exists under a never-ending blanket of snow. Most Western guys have this prevailing notion that any country in Eastern Europe is cold, miserable and it snows there all the time.

The reality is that the Ukraine has a temperate climate in the north, and a sub-tropical climate in the south. In fact, it has more in common with the south of France than it does with Russia or Poland.

The Ukraine enjoys a temperate climate for most of the year, with very warm summers and then freezing winters. Temperatures during the winter can drop to as low as -22°F, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Basically, the further inland you are from the Black Sea, the colder it gets here during the winter.

This diverse climate means you enjoy predictable weather, allowing you to go hiking in the mountains during the sweltering summer months, and then go skiing on those same mountains once November comes around.

The best time for tourists to visit the country is between May and September, but anyone choosing to live here will get accustomed to the weather in no time at all.

Real Estate Is Ridiculous

Western economies – both in Europe and North America – have been going through a weird cycle of boom-bust-boom-bust for the last few decades, with house and apartment prices tripling and quadrupling in less than a decade. Then the property market crashes, and the same properties become almost worthless. That’s not something you find here, because the housing market is far more predictable and steady.

The average 2-bedroom apartment in Ukraine (generally speaking) rents for about $300 per month and you won’t need more than $600 per month to cover all your day-to-day living expenses. Well, as long as you don’t decide to live like you’re starring in your own episode of MTV Cribs.

You don’t want to pay rent? That’s cool – you can just buy your apartment instead for as little as $40,000. That would barely be enough to buy you a new car in most Western countries, but in this part of the world you can outright own your home for the same amount of money. This is a real shock to the system when you look at apartments in some Western countries selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars/euros.

You’d prefer to live outside the major cities of the Ukraine? No problem – you can get your very own dacha (pronounce dah-cha) for no more than US$20,000. These are usually just meant as summer homes, because they have outdoor toilets and usually only a well for water.

But you can upgrade them to include all the mod cons for an extra few thousand dollars, and you’ll own your very own home for the same amount you’d use as a deposit for a property anywhere in Europe, and only the cheaper areas of North America.

Start Saving For Your Retirement

It’s a sad state of affairs to realize that most “wealthy” European and North American families have no more than US$1,000 in their savings account. Then when you take into account that 30% of the entire population of North America have absolutely nothing saved for their retirement, you can see why 25 million American retirees live below the federal poverty level.

Moving to the Ukraine means you’ll be able to actually start saving some of your money when living here, and in a bank that isn’t going to collapse tomorrow morning owing the government US$100 billion, or some similarly insane figure. That doesn’t happen in Eastern Europe because when bankers rip people or the government off they wind up in prison for life, if they’re lucky.

You can get interest rates here on your savings of 12% on average – that’s about 4 times what you can expect from any Western bank, and some banks even go as far as offering a 17% return on money saved with them.

So, yes, you can actually dramatically reduce your cost of living, meet some of the most beautiful women on the planet, and start saving for your retirement without ever affecting your quality of life. Sounds like a pretty good deal, right?

Eat Real Food

Isn’t all food “real”? Well not if it’s been doused with pesticides, and God knows what else, while it was growing. Then you have to factor in that at least some of the food you’re eating in Western restaurants has been genetically modified. Ukraine has taken a strong line against GMOs being used in their agriculture industry, and Russia has banned GMOs outright.

The Ukraine has some of the most fertile agricultural land anywhere in the world, and it shows in the quality of the fruits and vegetables grown here. Tourists often remark that meals here just seem to “taste better”, and they can’t understand why. Well, it’s because you’re eating organically grown food, that hasn’t had its genetics tampered with.

An added bonus here is that grocery shopping here is cheap. How cheap? About 70% cheaper than buying groceries anywhere in Europe or North America. Most European countries have had their economies decimated by the euro. Oh, you heard about some kind of economic recovery in Europe?

Sorry folks, that’s a tale spun by the mass media to keep people distracted from the fact that Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain and several other EU countries are on the verge of financial collapse.

There are plenty of supermarkets in the major cities of the Ukraine, and there’s no queuing for food – you can forget those propaganda movies from the 1980s. You won’t find as wide a variety of products as you might in other more developed countries, but the quality of the produce more than makes up for that.

Getting Around Costs Less

Public transport is ridiculously cheap, including a rail system that makes it so easy to get around the country that most people avoid driving or flying. Part of this is because flying is too expensive for the average Ukrainian to afford, and driving the vast distances between cities can take almost an entire day.

Trains here are cheap, fast and extremely comfortable, especially if you book a cabin for an overnight trip. Passengers on the longer journeys tend to bond with each other, sharing food, drink and stories with each other. An overnight journey between cities will cost you about $10.

No, we didn’t forget to add a zero.

Wi-Fi coverage isn’t readily available except on the newest trains, but that’ll probably be the last thing on your mind as you sit watching the vast expanse of the Ukraine pass by your window.

Some of the larger cities have their own metro systems, which are almost embarrassingly clean when you compare them to the underground networks in “developed” countries, and the tickets are so cheap it just makes sense to use them.

Are The Locals Cool With Western Visitors?

The Cold War is over folks, and has been for a long time. And even when it was a potentially dangerous situation for the entire world, that was between the politicians of the USA and USSR, and not the people.

Most of the human beings alive on this planet are generally decent people who just want to get on with their lives, and the same is true of people in the Ukraine.

So, you don’t need to worry about any anti-Western weirdness here with 99% of the population. Does that mean there’s a bad 1% who don’t like Westerners?

Guys, there’s a bad 1% everywhere in this world with an axe to grind with somebody they don’t like. Don’t sweat it – assholes are a universal constant.

Some Ukrainians can appear cold and unfriendly when you meet them first, but once they get to know you is when you’ll see the charming, funny side of true Ukraine. They’ll do anything they can for you, often apologizing profusely if they can’t help out.

Safer Than Most Western Countries

Criminals in Ukraine don’t get an easy time from the police here. In fact, you’re probably safer living in Odessa or Kiev than pretty much any large US city you can think of. Yes, there’s a dispute between Russia and the Ukraine over the eastern part of the country, but you’d never know that when strolling around Kiev, Lviv, Odessa or even Kharkiv.

Obviously you need to use your common sense and pay attention to any warning signs, but generally speaking you can walk around the middle of Kiev well after midnight, and you’ll have absolutely nothing to worry about.

As we said above, criminality just isn’t something that’s tolerated or rewarded here, and the very last place a criminal wants to wind up is in a Ukrainian jail. It’s not that they’re inhumane, but they’re not particularly nice places either. Then again, isn’t that how jails are meant to be?

There’s no such thing as a “no go” zone in western Ukrainian cities, something that you can’t say about certain parts of France, Sweden and the UK.

You Get Free Healthcare?

If you’re a citizen of, or permanent resident in, the Ukraine your medical care is meant to be provided free of charge by the government, except for any medications you’re prescribed as part of your treatment.

What actually happens is that the basics of healthcare are covered free of charge, but you might be expected to pay the doctor a separate fee, as well as for the use of specific medical equipment. The net result though is that you still pay a fraction of what you would in North America.

Even with medical insurance, having a heart attack in the US could leave you with a hospital bill for US$20,000. Having the same medical emergency in the Ukraine will cost you about $500. Why? Because hospitals and insurance companies aren’t allowed to treat patients like their own personal piggy banks.

The treatment protocols available aren’t as advanced as some Western countries, but the quality of care you receive is as good as any Western hospital. So good in fact that more and more people are traveling from Europe and North America to have their dental work done here, as well as other medical procedures.

It Can Become Home

Let’s assume you wind up visiting the Ukraine for a few weeks, and then meet and fall in love with a woman here. You then have two choices, with the first being to travel back home and maintain a long-distance relationship with her. Or you could simply stay put, and enjoy a different lifestyle in a country that has a lot more to offer than you might think.

US$6,000 is enough to live here for 6 – 8 months without working a single day of your life. We’re not encouraging you to spend money you don’t have, but the cost of living here is so low that it actually makes financial sense to relocate here, especially if you have some way of working remotely.

Best Websites For Expats

We have given you a lot of good information here, but moving to another country permanently is big decision and we want to be sure you get all the info you need. There are several great websites for expats thinking about making the move. If you are really serious take a look at them before you make your move.

All three of these sites offer tons of great information, but be sure to join the forums. That way you can begin making connections with other expats in the city where you want to live.

Kyiv is probably the single most popular destination for “immigrants” to the Ukraine, but that’s completely understandable because it’s the capital. You’ll also notice from our research that the cost of living is very low in every single one of the cities listed, which means your dollars or euros give you a lot of spending power here.

The ideal situation to find yourself in here is working remotely for a Western company, being paid a Western salary, but living in any of the cities listed above. You can quite easily live on US$1,000 per month, leaving you with more disposable income than you’ve probably had at any other time in your life.

Obviously one of the key reasons for most men relocating to Ukraine is because they have a girlfriend or fiancée living here, or that’s a position you want to find yourself in. Ukrainian women are more than happy to settle down with a Western guy, but it won’t be purely about the fact that you’re from North America or the UK.

They’re really interested in meeting ambitious guys, who treat them well, and want to build a future with them. If you can offer them that then you’re already so far ahead of most of your male competitors that you’d need binoculars to locate them.